In the middle of the month, a final workshop marked the conclusion of the World Bank and GFDRR-funded project dedicated to the implementation of a unified methodology for disaster loss assessment
The final workshop of the project “Enhancing Belarus’ Post-Disaster Damage and Loss Assessment System”, funded by World Bank and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) for Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus, was held on July 14th. The project was developed in collaboration with Jeremy Benn Associates Limited (JBA Consulting, UK), CIMA Research Foundation and local consultants from Belarusian State Economic University,. The workshop, held online and in the presence of head representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus, allowed to share with all participants the work process and the main results achieved by the project.
“The aim of the project was to improve the methodology of economic loss assessment after disasters”, explains Tatiana Bedrina, researcher of Risk Assessment and Loss Data of CIMA Research Foundation. “The Belarusian University of Civil Protection, in collaboration with Belarusian State Economic University, has developed, in 2018, a draft methodology, which provides basic guidelines for loss assessment. Now, this methodology has undergone a process of analysis and revision that has allowed its enhancement for three priority sectors (agriculture, forestry and housing and communal services) and development of the road map for further implementation of methodology”.
The project has been developed around three main components. The first was the revision of existing protocols and processes and the improvement of the methodology for loss assessment; the second was the testing of new methods, carried out through a realistic and comprehensive case study. Finally, JBA Consulting worked on the conceptual design of the data acquisition and management system for the collection, analysis and reporting of losses caused by different types of disasters.
“It was an important project for Ministry of Emergency Situations, because previously there was no a unified sectoral methodology for economic loss assessment in Belarus”, concludes Bedrina. “Still a lot of work needs to be done for operational implementation of methodology and its development for other sectors, but the work carried out during the year of the project duration and the developed road map provide strong basis for future development.”